Enforcement of Judgments 2023 Comparisons

In Sweden, there is no direct way to identify the full asset position of another party, prior to a judgment. However, there are several ways to get a good indication of a company’s or an individual’s assets.

One option is to contact the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) and request the tax returns of the other party, where information regarding declared income and expenses could be found. Tax returns submitted to the Swedish Tax Agency are publicly available and can generally be given to anyone upon request. This applies to all legal entities, sole traders and private individuals.

If the other party is required to keep accounts, such as in limited companies, the annual report can also give a good description of the company’s asset position. In Sweden, all annual reports are publicly available, and are filed and registered with the Swedish Companies Registration Office (Bolagsverket). Anyone can obtain annual reports by paying a small fee.

The Swedish authority responsible for property registration (Lantmäteriet) could determine whether the other party owns any real estate in Sweden, if the other party has a Swedish registration number or a Swedish social security number. Similarly, by contacting the Swedish Transport Agency (Transportstyrelsen), one could acquire information as to whether the other party owns any vehicles, civil aircraft, trains or boats over 15 metres in length.

It is also sometimes possible to review a credit report on the other party from a credit reference agency. Every company and everyone over the age of 15 is registered at the major credit reference agencies, and credit reports include information such as credit scores, debts and previous credits. There are no special requirements for requesting a credit report regarding a company but, according to Swedish law, a report must have a necessary purpose if it contains information about a private individual (eg, the party requesting the report has entered into, or is about to enter into, a credit agreement with the person to whom the credit information pertains, or the requesting party otherwise has grounds to make a financial risk assessment).

If the parties are in litigation (civil case), the court can, upon demand from a party, subpoena the production of documents if said documents can be assumed to have significance as evidence (editionsföreläggande). The obligation also applies to third parties and is thus not limited to the parties to the proceedings. Consequently, depending on the type of case, information about the asset position of a person or company can be gathered through the subpoena, if the documents have relevance as evidence.

Moreover, where there is a risk that the other party could withhold or disappear with the money or property, a claimant can also request that the court issues a freezing order (kvarstad). If ordered by the court, the Enforcement Authority (Kronofogdemyndigheten) will temporarily take possession of the money or property until a judgment or final order is issued.

In Sweden, there are seven different types of domestic judgments:

• declaratory judgment (fastställelsedom);
• judgment for specific performance (fullgörelsedom);
• intermediate judgment (mellandom);
• default judgment (tredskodom);
• interim judgment (interimistiskt beslut);
• decision (beslut); and
• confirmed settlement (stadfäst förlikning).

If the domestic judgment holds that an individual or a company (ie, the other party) is in debt or finds that the claimant is entitled to a specific asset, it is possible to apply for enforcement at the Enforcement Authority (ansökan om verkställighet). The authority can then compulsively attach and sell the debtor’s property or attach the specific asset in question and give possession or, where the other party is a natural person, force the judgment debtor’s employer to deduct money from the salary. The money obtained goes towards paying the debt. The same procedure is applicable if a third party’s debt, such as a guarantor’s liability, has been adjudged by a domestic judgment.

As a second option where the enforcement from the Enforcement Authority did not result in payment of the debt, an application for bankruptcy of the other party could be filed at the district court. A trustee will then handle the bankruptcy estate and decide in what order all the creditors get paid, according to Swedish law. The trustee will publish a notice to unknown creditors, and other parties may therefore claim their rights to the assets. This means that, even with a domestic judgment, another creditor may get paid before the creditor that filed for bankruptcy. The order depends on several factors, such as the origin and size of the claim, and when the claim first arose.

An advantage of placing the party into bankruptcy is that a bankruptcy trustee investigates. The bankruptcy trustee has the opportunity to apply for recovery to the estate and thus the money can be received for the estate.

The party petitioning for bankruptcy must show that the other party is insolvent. An application for bankruptcy is therefore often the second alternative to an application for enforcement at the Enforcement Authority.

A victim of crime, on the other hand, will always be entitled to the damages awarded by the court. If the perpetrator is not able to pay the full damages and the incident is not covered by insurance, it is possible for the victim to receive criminal injuries compensation for the remaining part from the Swedish state. An application can be sent to the Crime Victim Compensation and Support Authority (Brottsoffermyndigheten). The perpetrator will then be in debt to the authority, and not the victim.

An application for enforcement at the Enforcement Authority costs SEK600 (approximately EUR51) per year. It is the debtor's duty to pay this fee, but the creditor will receive the invoice instead if the debtor cannot pay. If the enforcement is successful, the creditor will be reimbursed.

Provided that the debtor has cash or cash equivalents, the time from the day of the application to the day the creditor is fully repaid is approximately 45 working days. However, the processing time may vary depending on the subject of the enforcement, the debtor’s solvency and the kind of assets attached.

The application fee for applying at the district court to place another party in bankruptcy is SEK2,800 (approximately EUR240), not including legal fees. This process is both time-consuming and more expensive than an application at the Enforcement Authority, and the process can take years.

As part of the execution process, the Enforcement Authority investigates whether the debtor has assets they can seize and the location thereof.

A defendant may challenge enforcement on the basis of a failure to validly serve proceedings on them, seeking to set aside the judgment or appeal the judgment.

If the judgment has not yet become final (eg, the appeal period is still running), the other party may lodge an appeal to a higher court (the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court) to challenge the obligation to pay. After the judgment becomes final, the obligation itself cannot be challenged, other than for procedural irregularities.

However, a higher court can also rule to inhibit the enforcement until the judgment is delivered. The inhibition can only be ruled upon the demand of a party. For the person/company filing the appeal, it is therefore important to remember to state the demand for inhibition.

The other party may challenge the Enforcement Authority’s decision to attach and sell assets. The appeal shall be sent to the authority within three weeks from the date of service (delgivning). If the decision relates to the enforcement of a person’s wage, there is no time limit for the appeal. The appeal is then sent to a district court.

After the appeal, however, the Enforcement Agency can still execute the enforcement until the court has made its judgment; thus, the appeal is not an obstacle to enforcement. If the court rules in the debtor’s favour, the property, or the equivalent amount, is given back to the defendant. However, the court can also rule to inhibit the enforcement until the judgment is delivered.

In Sweden, all types of court judgments can be enforced, in principle.        

Although there is no searchable register of all judgments, all court judgments are official in Sweden. To request a judgment regarding a specific company or person, it is possible to call the district court in the jurisdiction of the party’s registered office or residence. The information that can be received concerns whether an application for bankruptcy has been filed or if there are any ongoing or closed proceedings that confirm/impose a debt. Other domestic judgments are not available here, such as decisions from the Enforcement Authority.

However, a credit report of a person or a company can easily be obtained by contacting a credit reference agency. Unpaid debts, granted credits and credit scores will be shown. Payment defaults are usually visible in the report for three years.

Only judgments from foreign courts in areas that are covered by relevant international conventions to which Sweden has acceded, or agreements that Sweden has entered into with other countries, or in areas that are covered by certain EU regulations, can be enforced in Sweden. In special situations, a foreign judgment may also be enforced and recognised based on case law.

The most important treaties are listed below – there are also judgments that can be enforced in Sweden according to agreements that Sweden has entered into with other countries (eg, Nordic conventions):

• Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2012 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (recast);
• the Convention on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (the Lugano Convention);
• Council Regulation (EC) No 4/2009 of 18 December 2008 on jurisdiction, applicable law, recognition and enforcement of decisions and co-operation in matters relating to maintenance obligations;
• the Hague Convention of 30 June 2005 on Choice of Court Agreements; and
• Council Regulation (EC) No 2201/2003 of 27 November 2003 concerning jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in matrimonial matters and the matters of parental responsibility, repealing Regulation (EC) No 1347/2000.

Some judgments from other EU member states or other Nordic countries are directly enforceable. For other judgments, it might be necessary to apply to a specific district court to have the judgment declared enforceable, which is called exequatur.

Normally all judgments can be enforced, such as default judgments, interim, summary, etc. Judgments that do not conform with the basic principles of the Swedish legal system might be declared unenforceable with reference to ordre public, but this is not common.

Anyone who can demand that a judgment is enforced in the country of origin may also make an application for exequatur in Sweden. The documents that must be submitted in connection thereto depend on which regulation or convention the application is based. As a general rule, the following documents need to be submitted:

• a certified copy of the judgment and, in some cases, documents proving that the judgment is enforceable in the state in which it was given, such as proof of legality;
• an address or information about a representative in Sweden or within the EEA area for service of process;
• authorisation documents in their original for a possible representative; and
• a certificate pursuant to a regulation or convention from the court that delivered the judgment.

The court may request the applicant to submit an authorised translation of the documents. If the application is not complete, the district court will order the applicant to complete the application.

The district court does not reconsider the substantive aspect of the foreign judgment, although it does perform formal checks and thereafter declares the judgment enforceable, whereupon it can be enforced in the same way as a Swedish judgment.

The application to the court itself is free of charge, but there may be costs when hiring a representative and translating documents. For the further processing of enforcement, costs arise in the same way as for the enforcement of a domestic judgment.

However, in Sweden, the “loser pays” principle applies as a general rule, meaning that the losing party must pay all costs (eg, costs for the counterparties’ legal counsel). Simple cases take a couple of weeks to enforce but more complicated cases can take several months or even years to enforce.

In cases where the district court has approved an application for a declaration of enforceability, the counterparty shall be notified of the decision and given the opportunity to apply for an amendment thereof. If the counterparty is resident in Sweden, the application for change must be made within one month of receiving the decision. If the other party is resident in another state, the application must be made within two months of receiving the decision.

After an application for amendment has been made, the court must consider whether enforcement should be refused. The court shall refuse enforcement if there are obstacles to enforcement, such as:

• the judgment is contrary to the grounds of the Swedish legal system;
• the defendant in a third-party judgment or equivalent has not been served with the summons in the right way or in sufficient time to prepare their defence; or
• the judgment is contrary to a judgment between the same parties in Sweden.

As a general rule, a foreign arbitration award based on an arbitration agreement is recognised and enforced in Sweden. However, there are a couple of exceptions, corresponding to the exceptions in the New York Convention. A foreign award shall not be recognised and enforced in Sweden if the party against whom the award is invoked proves that:

• the parties to the arbitration agreement, pursuant to the law applicable to them, lacked capacity to enter into the agreement or were not properly represented, or the arbitration agreement was not valid under the law to which the parties have subjected it or, failing any indication thereon, under the law of the country where the award was rendered;
• the party against whom the award is invoked was not given proper notice of the appointment of the arbitrator or of the arbitral proceedings, or was otherwise unable to present its case;
• the award deals with a dispute not contemplated by, or not falling within, the terms of the submission to arbitration, or contains decisions on matters that are beyond the scope of the arbitration agreement, provided that, if the decision on a matter that falls within the mandate can be separated from those which fall outside the mandate, the part of the award that contains decisions on matters falling within the mandate may be recognised and enforced;
• the composition of the arbitral tribunal, or the arbitral procedure, was not in accordance with the agreement of the parties or, failing such agreement, was not in accordance with the law of the country where the arbitration was seated; or
• the award has not yet become binding on the parties, or has been set aside or suspended by a competent authority of the country in which, or under the law of which, the award was rendered.

The recognition and enforcement of a foreign award shall also be refused if a court finds that:

• the award includes determination of an issue which, in accordance with Swedish law, may not be decided by arbitrators; or
• it would clearly be incompatible with the basic principles of the Swedish legal system to recognise and enforce the award (ordre public).

During the proceedings in the Svea Court of Appeal in Stockholm (as described in 4.4 Process of Enforcing Arbitral Awards) for recognition and enforcement of the foreign arbitral award, documents that are filed will become public, as a general rule. However, certain information in submitted documents may be subject to limitations on publicity under the Public Access to Information and Secrecy Act. For example, information about a party’s business or management conditions will be kept confidential if it can be assumed that its disclosure would cause that party considerable harm. It is common for arbitral awards to be considered confidential.

Furthermore, there are normally no hearings on recognition and enforcement. If a hearing takes place, general Swedish rules on judicial procedure would apply. As a general rule, court hearings are open to the public, but a party may request that the hearing be held in camera and thus not be public. The court may grant such a request insofar as it relates to the information qualifying for protection under the Public Access to Information and Secrecy Act and the court deems it to be of extraordinary importance that such information should not be disclosed.

Generally, Sweden’s approach to enforcement does not vary for different types of arbitral awards, as long as they are enforceable according to the requirements described in 4.1 Legal Issues Concerning Enforcement of Arbitral Awards.

Through the implementation of the Washington Convention of 1965 on the Recognition and Enforcement of Arbitration Judgments in Certain International Investment Disputes, an arbitration award in certain such disputes can, under certain conditions, be enforced directly as a Swedish court's final judgment. However, the Court of Justice of the EU’s Achmea decision from 2018 might pose an obstacle to enforcement in such cases.

Under Swedish law, an arbitral award is considered to have been rendered in the country where the proceedings have their seat of arbitration. Swedish law recognises an award as either domestic or foreign, so does not recognise the concept of a non-domestic award. The Swedish court will try to establish a country, but in the event that this is not possible, it will not be possible to enforce the arbitral award.

The recognition and enforcement of a foreign award shall also be refused if a court finds non-compliance with the requirements referred to above. Furthermore, certain interim decisions are not considered judgments under the New York Convention and are therefore not enforceable.

An application must be made for recognition and enforcement of the foreign arbitral award, filed with the Svea Court of Appeal in Stockholm. This court’s examination of the application only covers the status of the arbitral award, and does not include such objections to the judgment that can be made in the actual enforcement.

The arbitral award must be attached to the application in an original or certified copy. The judgment must also be certified and translated in its entirety into Swedish, unless the Svea Court of Appeal decides otherwise. It is rarely necessary to translate documents in English, Danish or Norwegian into Swedish, as there is a language convention between the Nordic countries which prescribes that, as far as possible, they shall be entitled to communicate in their own language when in contact with Swedish authorities.

The Court of Appeal must give the opposing party opportunity to comment before the court can approve the application.

If the opposing party objects to the existence of an arbitration agreement, the agreement shall also be submitted in an original or certified copy to the Court of Appeal. The same translation rules apply as for the award in relation hereto. In this context, it should be noted that there is no requirement within the framework of Swedish law for the arbitration agreement to be in writing.

If the opposing party objects and submits a request for annulment of the arbitral award or suspension of its enforcement, the Court of Appeal may postpone the decision and, if the applicant so requests, order the other party to provide reasonable security if a decision on enforcement may otherwise be issued.

When the Svea Court of Appeal grants an application for recognition and enforcement of a foreign award, the award is enforceable as a final Swedish court judgment, unless the Supreme Court orders a stay of execution. Decisions by the Svea Court of Appeal can be appealed to the Supreme Court.

After the decision, the enforcement of the arbitral award may be made on the same terms as a domestic judgment.

The time it takes to enforce an arbitral award depends on a number of different factors, such as the number of parties, whether communication is needed before a decision, case type, etc. The time may vary from a couple of months to over a year.

The application to the Svea Court of Appeal itself is free of charge, but there may be costs when hiring a representative and translating documents.

For the further processing of enforcement, costs arise in the same way as for the enforcement of a domestic judgment. However, in Sweden, the “loser pays” principle applies as a general rule, meaning that the losing party must pay all costs (eg, costs for the counterparties’ legal counsel).

An arbitral award that is not final will not be recognised and enforced in Sweden. The party against whom the award is invoked has the burden of proof in relation thereto.

Questions in the arbitral award, regarding limitation and other substantive objections, for example, are not reconsidered in the context of the enforcement procedure.